French troops serving in Lebanon have been only seconds away from firing on Israeli aircraft, the French defence minister says. Michele Alliot-Marie told parliament the jets dived towards UN positions in October and were perceived as a threat. "Two seconds later there would have been a shot against the aircraft which were directly menacing our forces," the defence minister said. France has previously complained about Israel violating Lebanese air space. Ms Alliot-Marie last month called the intrusions "extremely dangerous". She raised her concerns with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Jean-Marie Guehenno, the French head of the UN peacekeeping operations. French troops are in Lebanon as part of the UN peacekeeping mission, which was expanded in a UN-brokered deal that ended a 34-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants earlier this year.... http://news.bbc.co.uk

The Sri Lankan government has been heavily criticised for an artillery bombardment that killed dozens of civilians in the east of the island. Peace negotiator Erik Solheim said he was "very troubled" by the attack and urged the government and Tamil Tigers to honour pledges at recent talks. Rights group Amnesty International described the attack as "appalling". The government expressed "regret" that the army shelled the camp for people displaced by fighting near Batticaloa. 'So many dead and wounded' "I am very troubled by the government's onslaught in Vakarai," Mr Solheim said. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6131566.stm

Activist Cindy Sheehan has been arrested again as she led about 50 protesters to a White House gate Wednesday to deliver anti-war petitions she said were signed by 80,000 Americans. The petitions opposed use of military force to resolve the festering dispute over Iran's nuclear program. The California woman whose son was killed in Iraq more than two years ago was taken into custody with three other women on the sidewalk outside the White House gate, said Lt. Scott Fear, a U.S. Park Police spokesman. They were charged with interfering with a government function, he said. "It was taking too long for them to decide whether to accept them or not, so we just delivered them," said Sheehan. The petitions were tossed over the wrought-iron fence after the protesters waited about 15 minutes without a response. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/09/national/main2165318.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._2165318

NATO launched airstrikes as clashes in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar killed 28 suspected Taliban militants, police said Thursday.Canadian troops from a NATO-led security force and Afghan police identified a Taliban position in Zhari district late Wednesday, and with close air support, killed 22 suspected militants, district police chief Ghulam Rasool Aga told The Associated Press.NATO spokesman Maj. Luke Knittig confirmed NATO and Afghan forces clashed with a group of insurgents who had attacked them with small arms fire, but had no immediate details on militant casualties. He said an assessment of the clash was ongoing.Earlier Wednesday in Zhari, police fought for three hours with Taliban fighters. The clash left six Taliban dead and four wounded, Aga said. One policeman and three villagers were also wounded, he said, adding that the militants had taken shelter in civilian homes....http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-11-09-afghanistan_x.htm?csp=34

Corruption within the Iraqi government is costing the country billions of dollars, the US official monitoring reconstruction in Iraq has said. Stuart Bowen told the BBC that Iraq was facing a second insurgency of corruption and mismanagement. He said Iraqi government corruption could amount to $4bn (£2.1bn) a year, over 10% of the national income, with some money going to the insurgency. Many government workers also lack the skills to manage funds, Mr Bowen said. "This money that's stolen doesn't merely enrich criminals," Mr Bowen said. "(It) frequently goes out to fund criminal militias or insurgents. That means lost lives for US troops." ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6131290.stm

Eighteen Palestinian civilians, most of them women and children from the same family, have been killed as they tried to flee a barrage of Israeli artillery shells fired on and around the house where they had been sleeping minutes earlier. The victims were killed by an estimated 10 to 12 155mm shells which landed on Beit Hanoun less than 24 hours after troops had ended a six-day ground incursion into the northern Gaza town aimed at stopping militants firing Qassam rockets into Israel. All but one of the dead were members of the Athamneh family and included six children under 16. They were killed when they rushed out into the dirt road beside their four-storey building after the first shell struck, punching a hole two feet in diameter through the roof. Large puddles in the road were still dark with blood five hours after the attack. The artillery salvo, which began at 5.30am, inflicted the highest single civilian death toll in four months of operations by the Israeli military...http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1962692.ece